Bookbinding



RUSS

G N BINDI Elled Nov 2 4 i dll.

Patented Dec. 23, 1941 FFICE BooKBmDING Clarence J. Russell, Washington,D. C. Application Nwemberiz, 1940, serial No. 365,378

' 4 claims'. (c1. 281-25) The invention relates to magazines and thelike and more particularly to a binding for magazines in which staplesare utilized, the staples being so positioned and disposed in referenceto the signatures forming the magazine rthat the bound magazine, whenopened at any point will lie iiat to thereby obtain an effect in bindingsimilar to that obtained by sewing the signatures to each other.

Before describing the invention in detail it might be well to point outthat in the binding of magazines, `such for instance as the publica tionof the National Geographic Society which involves the distributionmonthly of more than a million copies, it is impossible, withoutprohibitive expense, to utilize the old method of sewing the collectedsignatures together.

Various devices have been tried to obtain the benet of a sewed magazinewithout necessitating the tremendous increase -in cost caused by suchsewing operation. One example is set forth in my co-pending application,Ser.' No. 313,794, iiled January 13, 1940, in which, by providing aplurality of diversely inclined slots in the closed edges of thesignatures and by filling such slots with a latex glue, I obtain a webof glue extending across and into the several signatures, said web beingconnected by a latex backing and also connected at the side edges of themagazine by additional bands of latex. I have found, however, that thecost of such a construction, while materially less than the cost ofsewing, is much higher than the cost of stapling the signatures togetheras has been customary in the past.

If one will examine the back of a magazine, after the cover has beenremoved, it will be observed that a plurality of staples, 2, 3 or 4 innumber, are utilized to fasten the collected signatures together. Thesestaples extend through the assembled signatures and have their separateends peened or bent over so as to prevent the withdrawal of the staplesafter the binding operation.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of myinvention:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a magazine or the like with portionsbroken away to more clearly illustrate the details of the invention; and

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 2-2 of Figure 1 lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, I indicates a magazine orthe like formed of collected signatures 2 and having a cover 3. The

signatures are secured together by a pluralityof spaced pairs of staples4, the legs of which penetrate the signatures in close proximity to thefold or closed edges thereof.

In carrying out my invention I collect the var` ious signatures in theusual `or customary manner and cause the collected signatures to becarried into and between the clamping jaws of a suitable staplingmachine, as isl also customary in the binding art. In the past, however,as has been pointed out above, staples were entered from one side of themagazine formed by the collected signatures and engaged on the oppositeside of the magazine an anvil member by which the extension of the legsof the staple beyond the thickness of the collected signatures weredirected at right angles to the leg portions so as to form clamps toprevent the withdrawal of the staples and to prevent the signatures,after being released from the clamping jaws of the stapling machine,from returning to their previous size.

After the signatures have been placed within the stapling machine andsecurely clamped therein I provide in the stapling machine two opposingpairs of staples, each pair being so positioned that the legs of onestaple are closely adjacent the legs of the opposite staple of the pairafter the same have perforated the signatures. The legs of eachpair ofstaples are, however, of less length than the combined thickness of theclamped magazine. By utilizing staples of this construction I am enabledto eliminate from the stapling machine the anvils heretofore used and bycausing the legs of each pair of staples to lie adjacent each other andto overlap, I provide a frictional grip which is sufiicient to resistthe expansive force of the signatures and to securely lockl thesignatures in their pressed condition.

Were the staples to be placed at a point spaced a quarter of an inch orat even a greater distance from the back of the signatures they wouldact in a very similar manner to the staples now employed and themagazine, after completion, would not remain open at any given page.Where riveting or peening over of the ends of the staple legs isnecessary, as in previously stapled magazines, itis essential that thestaples be positioned not less than one quarter of an inch from the backof the magazine since the tearing eifect of the riveting operation wouldotherwise cause the staple to tear through the signatures and prevent aperfect binding operation. Since there is no riveting or peening over ofthe projecting staple legs in the method which I employ, there is notendency, upon the stapling operation, for the portion of the staplewhich connects the two legs to cut into the pages of the adjacentsignatures and it is therefore possible to cause the staples to enterthe signatures at points much closer to the edges of the signaturesthan` has heretofore been deemed possible. I have, in fact, found thatit is possible to place the staple Within one sixty-fourth of an inch ofthe edge of each signature Without damage; to the same and without inany Way affecting the holding effort of the staple. By so doing it willbe evident from an examination of magazines stapled in this manner thatthe magazine will lie open at any given:

page and that I have, by this means, obtained the full benefit, in sofar as opening of the maga-- zine is concerned, of the sewing; processheretof fore used and at the same time reduced the cost of such bindingto a point which is directly competitive with the previous method ofstapling magazines.

Having now described my invention and the means by which the same islaccomplished, what I claim and desire to secure by LettersPatent. is:

1. A binding for amagazine or thev like formedof collected signaturescomprising a. plurality.- of spaced pairs of staplesY penetrating andfrictionally engaging said signatures. in close proximity tov the4 foldedges thereof, eachpair being oppositely directed and the legs of eachpair overlapping in closely adjacent relation and being of less lengththan the thickness of said magazine.

2. A binding for a magazine or the like formed of collected signaturescomprising a plurality of spaced pairs of staples penetrating andfrictionally engaging the signatures approximately one sixty-fourth ofan inch from the fold edges thereof, the staples of each pair beingoppositely disposed and the legs of the staples of each pair vbeing ofless length than` the, thickness of the engaging the signatures adjacentthe` foldA edges,

thereof, the legs of the staples of each, pair beingy disposed inoverlapping relation and of less length. than the thickness of saidbody, and a Ycover secured to the fold edges of said signatures.,

CLARENCE J'. RUSSELL..

